Python Coding challenge - Day 207 | What is the output of the following Python Code?

 

Code:

str_a = "hello"

str_b = "hello"

print(str_a is str_b)

print(str_a == str_b)

Solution and Explanation:  

In Python, the statements str_a = "hello" and str_b = "hello" both create string objects that contain the same sequence of characters. Let's break down what happens when you use the is and == operators to compare these two strings.

is Operator

The is operator checks for object identity. It returns True if both operands refer to the same object in memory.

== Operator

The == operator checks for value equality. It returns True if the values of the operands are equal, regardless of whether they are the same object in memory.

Now, let's analyze the code:

str_a = "hello"

str_b = "hello"

print(str_a is str_b)  # This checks if str_a and str_b are the same object

print(str_a == str_b)  # This checks if the values of str_a and str_b are equal

str_a is str_b

In Python, small strings and some other immutable objects are sometimes interned for efficiency. String interning means that identical strings may refer to the same object in memory. Because "hello" is a short, commonly used string, Python often interns it. As a result, str_a and str_b will likely refer to the same interned string object. Therefore, str_a is str_b will typically return True because they are the same object in memory.

str_a == str_b

The == operator compares the values of str_a and str_b. Since both strings contain the same sequence of characters "hello", str_a == str_b will return True regardless of whether they are the same object in memory.

Summary

str_a is str_b checks if str_a and str_b refer to the exact same object. In this case, it will likely be True due to string interning.

str_a == str_b checks if str_a and str_b have the same value. This will be True because both strings contain "hello".

So, the output of the code will be:

True

True

This illustrates both object identity and value equality for these string variables in Python.